I've had some exciting new developments happening in my life as of late. It's almost like spring brings nature's revival and the human revival, too! I'm very excited to have gotten my job back at Aeropostale and will be working as a sales associate again this summer! I absolutely love the job and feel blessed to get hands on, industry experience in a friendly, encouraging, fun working environment. Looking forward to late night floor sets and helping people feel good about themselves again :)

Also, I decided to sell vintage in my online shop again this summer! Really, really looking forward to finding more gems than ever when I'm thrifting, and giving them away to good homes...I should have the shop up and running in the next two weeks!

Then, I finally got my flight plan for my Florence trip! I'll be leaving August 17th, taking a bus to Detroit, then PARIS (!!!!), then right into Florence. A part of one of the classes I take is built in weekend studying trips, and we also recently got where we'll be going and when.

September 16-20 Paris (the number #1 place I've always wanted to go to).

October 2-3 Milan

October 21-25 London

I am so excited I could burst. I've been planning out in my mind the places I want to go to while I'm there in Europe along with these required trips. I really want to do a lot of traveling in Italy and know I'm going to hit up Verona, Venice, Rome and perhaps a few others. Outside of Italy I'm thinking Switzerland, Ireland, Greece, Spain, and France.

Those of you who live in Europe or Italy--where do you suggest I visit?! x

While in France, you should definitely pay a visit to Nice! I did a study away to Paris this past summer, and a bunch of us took a 4-day excursion to Nice and it was magnificent. The people there are so friendly, and the beach is so gorgeous it's unreal.

While in Paris, just spend time wandering. I know that you will want to hit up the major attractions (the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame,etc.) but the most fun part of being in the city is just getting lost in it. Buy a several day metro pass and learn the routes. Explore neighborhoods. It's the out of the way places that have the best little shops (handmade and vintage!!!) and the BEST food. Montmartre is a lovely and charming little artsy neighborhood, and also the home to the Sacré Cœur. While the Sacré Cœur is quite touristy, it is more than worth fighting the crowds to go look at. Plus tours are free!! While in the neighborhoods, there are tons of beautiful cathedrals (I actually enjoyed the random cathedrals that my friends and I would stumble upon more than Notre Dame!) most of them are open to the public and have gorgeous architecture, and you don't have to fight the crowds!

This is going to be an amazing experience and I am so excited for you!! Also excited to live vicariously through you while you blog about it! ;)

If you have any France questions/study abroad questions/whatever, feel free to email me at karasynlindsey@gmail.com!!

When you're in France you're definitely going to want to stop in Montmartre, it has the cutest little shops! Sacre Coeur is another place you'll want to stop by. It's beautiful and holds some sort of peacefulness, or maybe that's just what I found there. If you're going to Switzerland you must visit Geneva, it's beautiful. Crans Montana is a cute town that I stayed in, it has lifts going into the alps and wide open valleys to explore. My honest advice is to just explore everywhere you can! Grab a map and just walk through, that's what I did in London and ended up enjoying that part the most. Life's most exciting and memorable moments are always the most spontaneous! Just have fun and soak up as much of the culture as you possibly can!

Ahhhhh you're going to have the best time! I highly recommend going to the Cinque Terre in Italy if you have a free weekend. It's beautiful. As is Siena and Pienza, two towns near Florence. If you think the Pompeii ruins are cool, definitely plan a trip to Sorrento, and make a stop at the Isle of Capri!

Both you and the cherry blossoms are lovely :) And that's so cool that you get to go to Paris and London in addition to Italy. I studied abroad in London and took a weekend trip to Paris while I was there. It was well worth it!

Oh my gosh you're coming to London!! I live maybe an hour's train ride away!! You'll have so much fun, it's busy but not in a bad way! My favourite part is covent garden, it's really pretty with the cutest shops and there are always performers on the Main Street as well! Jess from http://theadorabledork.blogspot.co.uk xx

I'm Irish and you should definitely come here, you'd love it! Dublin is the easiest place to get to but Ireland is so small that you can go anywhere from there. If you like the countryside, Wicklow is a short bus journey away from the city and Glendalough is STUNNING. Or if you want a more rural place to go then try Cork, it's a city but in the middle of loads of countryside and little villages. Or Galway is a small city that's quite studenty as loads of students live there for the university.

So happy for you :')I would be so happy if you managed to visit Greece! I live in Corfu which is not far from Italy and I'm sure you'd like it so so so much here. If you decide to come, I can help you with everything! Heck, you can even sleep at my house (I swear, I'm not a killer). <3

Aaaah, you'll love London! It's my favourite city :-) You'll obviously need to do all the tourist-y stuff, like Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye. The Shard is amazing- it's the tallest building in London and you can go up to the top! There are lots of good museums that are free too, the Victoria and Albert has lots of art and fashion stuff :-) Woah, that was a lot of information ... But tweet me if you ever have any questions!xx

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are a very blessed young lady ... and I am honored to be along on the journey with you! (Will u be able to blog while u r overseas???) Just remember to live & love every moment! And ... maybe bring a Bible, or a devotional, to read in new locations ... if it's a devotional that belongs to you, you can write on the top where u read it that day ("The Louvre, gardens ...") and always have that as another memento!

Hey! So exciting! Hurrah, you're coming to London!!!! And I think that is my half-term week holiday when you are here!! You know my offer to stay stands if you wanted/needed to but I won't be offended if you don't! I live in a county outside of London which takes 40mins into the City of London. You should definitely take a boat trip along the Thames, visit St Paul's cathedral, get a train out to Kent and see Leeds castle (has a huge maze!) or Hever Castle (where Anne Boleyn lived)- also has a maze! You should go and have Afternoon tea at the Savoy or Landmark Hotel or the Ritz as Afternoon tea (cakes, tea, scones, jam, cream, sandwiches,) in London is a cool thing to do!

I agree with most of what people said about Paris- Sacre Coeur is really special- much nicer than dingy Notre Dame (although it is impressive).Bruges is a GORGEOUS place to visit in Belgium- it's so cute and you can eat and buy lots of chocolate, has cute windmills etc.

Geneva is beautiful as someone else said in Switzerland but I really liked some of the amazing Mountainous ranges- the Matterhorn mountain in Zermatt is amazing and you can get a cable-car up it and it's so cool!

Lake Garda in Italy is gorgeous, but I'd go there early in your stay whilst it's warm. More anon x

Hey! So exciting! Hurrah, you're coming to London!!!! And I think that is my half-term week holiday when you are here!! You know my offer to stay stands if you wanted/needed to but I won't be offended if you don't! I live in a county outside of London which takes 40mins into the City of London. You should definitely take a boat trip along the Thames, visit St Paul's cathedral, get a train out to Kent and see Leeds castle (has a huge maze!) or Hever Castle (where Anne Boleyn lived)- also has a maze! You should go and have Afternoon tea at the Savoy or Landmark Hotel or the Ritz as Afternoon tea (cakes, tea, scones, jam, cream, sandwiches,) in London is a cool thing to do!

I agree with most of what people said about Paris- Sacre Coeur is really special- much nicer than dingy Notre Dame (although it is impressive).Bruges is a GORGEOUS place to visit in Belgium- it's so cute and you can eat and buy lots of chocolate, has cute windmills etc.

Geneva is beautiful as someone else said in Switzerland but I really liked some of the amazing Mountainous ranges- the Matterhorn mountain in Zermatt is amazing and you can get a cable-car up it and it's so cool!

Lake Garda in Italy is gorgeous, but I'd go there early in your stay whilst it's warm. More anon x

Oh my gosh that first picture is absolutely ADORABLE, you look so happy and that outfit is so cute! I'm definitely stealing that idea and putting together something similar soon. No suggestions for Europe, but stay safe and hope you have tons of fun!

I’m Lauren. A 23 year old recent transplant to NYC and the blogger behind this nook of the internet. This is the place where I write out my soul, bare my heart, and welcome you to do the same. Grab a warm cup of something and stay awhile. x